Google, EchoStar to launch automated TV ad service

The rumor of Google's plan to enter the television advertising market seems to have legs. The company announced this week that they were entering into a deal with EchoStar Communications to launch an automated television ad service.

by Kristina Knight

The service will buy, sell, deliver and measure ads to DishNetwork's 125 satellite networks. The test phase is invitation only and will allow Google access to DishNetwork's inventory for all networks and dayparts.

There is nothing surprising about the move. Google, in January, announced a deal with CBS to sell outstanding radio inventory and in February said they were interested in pursuing television advertising possibilities. At the time, the CBS deal was rumored to include television spots as well as radio advertising.

The ads will be sold using an auction model which will allow advertisers to have some control over when and where the ads will air. According to a Google statement, "Google TV ads. . .can target by demographic, daypart and channel and (advertisers) pay only for actual impressions delivered."

Using the auction model, advertisers will jostle for the ad inventory, giving CPM bids. Once the auction is run, Google will report back to the auction winner when or if the ad ran, which channel it ran on and the number of household boxes delivered by the ad.